An independent programmer has taken steps to use technology to improve services in a way city departments haven’t yet achieved. Alex Bell, a graduate student at Columbia University, has developed a free mobile app to track New York City’s subways in real-time.

Crazy contraptions. Zany reactions. A totally pointless denouement.The mechanical complexity and circuitous reactions in a Rube Goldberg machine have always captured the tinkerer’s imagination. So as big fans of tinkerers, contraptions, and circuitousness, we at Handshake decided to bring you the top five videos of Rube Goldberg machines.

This short clip, directed by Roman Coppola, stars the oh-so-charming Jason Schwartzman (of Rushmore and Bored to Death fame) demonstrating all of the bells and whistles of the New Yorker‘s new app for the iPad.

It was 9:15 a.m. I was sitting in a Starbucks in Chappaqua, New York drinking a tall hot chocolate. My brother was at work and I was waiting for him to pick me up around noon. While men in seersucker shorts and women in spandex pants ordered their favorites beverages, I passed the time on my IBM laptop.

I visited the New York Times, transcribed some interviews and watched Whale Wars. Like my hot chocolate, my computer was uncomfortably hot. After awhile, I sat the machine down in front of me and grabbed my iPhone. As I perused some unread e-mails, I came across one that my brother had sent me. It was about the new Netflix application for the iPhone.

Using Starbucks’ free wi-fi, I downloaded the free app in no time at all. In less than a minute, I fired it up, logged in and started watching an episode of The Office. The picture quality was perfect and I didn’t need to buffer at all.

Since I don’t have the unlimited data plan, I can’t comment on the 3G viewing experience.

Never the less, the Netflix app is a terrific download for any subscriber. Get it while it’s free.

Even non-Apple fans anticipate great new gadgets from the company, and the iPhone 4 is no exception. But for the people who already have the new iPhone, commenting about its antenna problem on Apple forums seems to be a big no-no. From ZDnet:

TUAW discovered that numerous threads referencing Consumer Reports’ recent article ‘not recommending’ the iPhone 4 were being summarily deleted from Apple’s support forums, and it isn’t the first time. In my piece about the iPhone 4’s proximity sensor bug I noted that Apple was also deleting posts about it as well.

Despite recent Internet hoaxes, we still have 5 years to achieve all the greatness of the 2015 Back to the Future II world.

But if we’re going to actually live in the Hill Valley of the future, inventors really need to kick it up a gear.

Last week the Associated Press claimed our hovercar was just around the corner. And now Instructables inventor blakeblevin is showing off a neon Nike with self-tying laces.

Shoe-attaching technology has seen little progress since Velcro, and I for one, think it’s high time my sneaks stopped being so lazy and tied themselves. Obviously this means the double-necktie is just around the corner. Wouldn’t hold out much hope for the hoverboard though.

Are you in need of a new hat? What about a new flip video cam to record your video?

If you need both, you’re in luck. There is now the Hatcam, a regular, unattractive baseball cap with a tripod built into it. You no longer need your hands to hold your flip video cam to record your LARP outings or other geek adventures. Just attach the camera to your hat and you’re good to go.

The Chalk Ping Pong Table designed by Aruliden Studiosallows players to interact with each other through written messages. This supposedly makes the game more enjoyable. But is writing in chalk really that much easier than, you know, talking?